Work to restore forgotten cemetery continues    

Published 2:06 pm Tuesday, November 1, 2016

VFW members and other volunteers have made progress uncovering a forgotten cemetery along Old Muddy Creek Road, but they say there is plenty still to do.

Janice Martin, quartermaster for VFW Post 2728, said the group of volunteers put in four hours each Saturday for four weekends working to clear out the brush that has grown throughout the area covering headstones.

“We have got a lot done,” Martin said. “The East Kentucky Power Company sent out some contractors (Asplundh) with a wood chipper. You can actually see (the grave markers) now.”

Email newsletter signup

The group was even able to locate a stone sign identifying the cemetery as Reeves Memorial Park, a cemetery for black families that was dedicated in 1939.

However, much work still remains.

Martin said it is still unknown just how large the cemetery is. She said she and volunteers have continued to find more headstones as they work, sometimes by tripping over them as they move through the brush.

Martin said that Asplundh will be coming back to the cemetery to remove some dead trees from the area, and the group’s biggest need until then is additional manpower to help clear the weeds and other growth along the ground.

While the unseasonably warm weather has been helpful during the work, Martin said she did not know how much time remains before conditions become too cold — leaving the project to be completed next spring.

Those wishing to volunteer to assist in cleanup efforts can call Martin at 595-1657 or call VFW Post 2728 at 744-9715.

More brainworks